Britain's Conservatives lose seat they've held for nearly 200 years, in evident rebuke of Boris Johnson

A bad December for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson got worse early Friday when his Conservative Party lost a special election for a seat in Parliament the party has held for nearly 200 years. The victor in North Shropshire, a rural district near England's border with Wales, was Helen Morgan of the centrist Liberal Democrats. "Tonight the people of North Shropshire have spoken on behalf of the British people," she said. "They have said loudly and clearly, 'Boris Johnson, the party is over.'"
The by-election was called to replace Owen Paterson, the Conservative member of Parliament who had held the seat since 1997 but resigned last month after breaking rules against paid lobbying in Parliament — despite an effort by Johnson to save him. Paterson won the district by nearly 23,000 votes in the 2019 general election, which delivered Johnson a solid majority in Parliament. In Thursday's by-election, Morgan won by nearly 6,000 votes, thanks to support from Labour voters.
Voters in North Shropshire gave Johnson's government "a kicking," and "we've listened and we've heard that message," Conservative party co-chairman Oliver Dowden told BBC News. He said the loss of the safe Tory seat was due more to Paterson's lobbying scandal and said the government will try to reverse its slide in the polls by focusing on a booster campaign amid surging COVID-19 cases from the Omicron variant.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In the past week, Johnson has been hit with revelations about his staff holding a Christmas party last year in evident violation of his government's own COVID-19 lockdown rules, then joking about it. About 100 Tory lawmakers then refused to support Johnson's plan to control the Omicron variant's spread, forcing him to rely on Labour votes. He is now facing murmurings about a leadership challenge, and Labour is pulling ahead in several opinion polls.
"The Tory Party is a ruthless machine for winning elections," Jonathan Powell, a former chief of staff to Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, told The New York Times. "If that is continuing into an election cycle, the party will get rid of him quickly."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
President diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency'
Speed Read The vein disorder has given Trump swollen ankles and visible bruising on his hands
-
'Bawdy' Trump letter supercharges Epstein scandal
Speed Read The Wall Street Journal published details of Trump's alleged birthday letter to Epstein
-
Fed chair Powell in Trump's firing line
Speed Read The president considers removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
-
Trump trashes supporters over Epstein files
speed read The president lashed out on social media following criticism of his administration's Jeffrey Epstein investigation
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings
Speed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department